I want to direct a film: Oscar winner Resul Pookutty (Interview)

By Robin Bansal New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Oscar winning sound engineer Resul Pokutty says his ultimate dream is to direct a film and if possible he would like to work with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

“I want to direct a film. Any film student ultimately wishes to direct a film and I have a great ambition to make one as intelligent as (Jean-Luc) Godard and as widely appreciated as (Alfred) Hitchcock,” Pookutty told IANS in an interview here.

The master technician who won an Oscar this year for his work in “Slumdog Millionaire” says his yearning to direct a film is not new.

“Five years ago, I planned a film that was almost going into production but last minute the finance didn’t happen and it got canned. But it’s there at the back of my mind. Some day I might make it or may be some other film,” said the soft-spoken wizard.

“The film was based on the book ‘Govardhan’s Travels’ by well-known Malayalam writer Anand. I planned to make the film in three languages - Malayalam, Hindi and English - with Mammootty as one of the main leads,” he said.

Pokutty said he would like to team up with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan for his directorial venture.

“I don’t know yet, but I really want to work with Amitabh Bachchan. What great gestures he has made towards me. When the Oscar nominations came in, he called a press conference in Jaipur and said ‘I’m more happy about Resul’s nomination’. After I won the Oscar, he sent me a bouquet that wouldn’t even fit in my drawing room. He also sent me a card and last week he honoured me in Mumbai,” said the 38-year-old.

Asked if he had approached the megastar with the intention, Pookutty promptly replied “not yet”.

Though he is keen to wield the megaphone, Pookutty says this is not the right time.

“I want to switch over, but I’ll be a fool to change my track now. It’ll be a bad career decision to change my profession at this stage and so I’m not going to do any such thing now,” he added.

Pookutty won the golden statuette along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp for best sound mixing in Danny Boyle’s multiple award-winning underdog drama “Slumdog Millionaire” at the 81st Annual Academy Awards in February.

“After ‘Slumdog…’, Indian entertainment industry is being taken very seriously abroad. There is a lot of interest in the West towards us. It has come straight out of ‘Slumdog…’ and we should thank them (the filmmakers),” he said.

Pookutty started his career in 1995 with Rajat Kapur’s never-released film “Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One” and went on to design sound for films like “Black” (2005), “Traffic Signal” (2007), “Saawariya” (2007) and “Ghajini” (2008).

Pookutty says Oscar brought a considerable change in his life.

“For me, Oscar is a popular award and I required a popular medium to be recognised. I really appreciate and value it,” he said.

“There are international projects that are coming up. I’m reading three scripts a week. There is a lot of interest in me from the rest of the world. A French director has been desperately trying to get in touch with me for the last three months. I even got a call from Croatia. It’s great,” he added.